Feb 25 2011

From The Space Library

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-037 NASA SETS MEDIA CREDENTIAL DEADLINES FOR NEXT SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHT

WASHINGTON -- NASA has set media accreditation deadlines for the April space shuttle flight to the International Space Station. Six astronauts, including Commander Mark Kelly, are targeted to launch aboard shuttle Endeavour on April 19 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 14-day mission will be the 36th flight to the space station, and the 25th and final scheduled flight for Endeavour. The STS-134 mission will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle physics detector designed to search for various types of unusual matter by measuring cosmic rays. The STS-134 crew also will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier 3, a platform that carries spare parts that will sustain station operations once the shuttles are retired later this year.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-038 LUNAR AND PLANETARY CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION

HOUSTON --NASA researchers and other scientists will present findings that provide new insights into the evolution of the solar system during the 42nd annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. The conference will run March 7-11 at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, 1601 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands, Texas. Key events include the unveiling of future planetary science strategy; early science results from a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency mission, called Hayabusa, that returned the first particle samples from an asteroid; presentations about the recent comet Hartley 2 flyby; and the upcoming MESSENGER mission, the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. The conference also will include a briefing about the Planetary Decadal Survey at 5:30 p.m. CST on March 7. The survey is a strategy released by the National Research Council in Washington to prioritize missions, research areas and observations ten or more years into the future. The briefing's featured speaker will be Steve Squyres of Cornell University. He is the survey's chair and principal investigator for NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers.

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